String quartet tackles Mendelssohn for Winter Colony Concert Series

The Magellan String Quartet will sound off for the second event in the Winter Colony Concert Series this weekend.

The concert will take place at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the Aiken County Historical Museum, followed by a Meet the Artists reception at The Willcox. The quartet's hourlong program will include Mendelssohn's String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, op. 13, and String Quartet No. 1 composed by Magellan Quartet viola player Carl Purdy.

"We have some old music and some new music," said violinist Laura Tomlin. "The Mendelssohn is from the standard quartet repertoire, and the second is a new piece by Carl Purdy."

Said cellist Ruth Berry, "This Mendelssohn is one of the first major pieces we played together, and Carl has been talking about writing for string quartet for years now. The thing about playing a piece so many times over the years is that we keep finding new things in it each time we perform."

The Magellan String Quartet formed in 1990, and its newest member, violinist Eliza Hesse, joined two years ago, according to Tomlin. They have played Purdy's composition in Augusta and in Columbia County, but Sunday will be the piece's Aiken debut.

The Winter Colony Concert Series was founded by Diane Haslam to provide a showcase for local musicians. Haslam performed a concert of love songs for the series' first event, on Valentine's Day.

Tickets to the Magellan String Quartet concert are $10, and are available in advance and at the door; each ticket will also entitle the holder to a free drink at a reception at The Willcox.

Advance tickets are available at the Aiken County Historical Museum; for more information, call the museum at 642-2015.

Contact Suzanne Stone at sstone@aikenstandard.com.